Share Saudi Aramcos approach toward

achieving operational excellence through the

use of Communities of Practice (CoP) among
its operating facilities

Agenda
1

KM Program Objective and Business Drivers

Knowledge Classification and Strategic Vision

Our Journey Toward KM

CoP Overview

Case Study Rotating Equipment CoP

Program Objective
To grow and maintain the corporate knowledge while
creating a learning organization that would increase our
intellectual capital, improve performance and achieve
operational excellence.

WEALTH increases in nations that have been at the cutting edge of

R&D, technology, innovation and KNOWLEDGE.
Khalid Al-Falih,
CEO and President, Saudi Aramco

Business Drivers
o

Fill the competency gap between generations

Reduce rework and promote innovative thinking

Increase intellectual capital

Create a learning organization

Achieve operational excellence

Knowledge Classification
Tacit

Explicit

HUMAN CAPITAL
(Individual)

RELATIONAL CAPITAL
(Team/Community)

STRUCTURAL CAPITAL
(Organization)

Expertise

Networks

Intellectual Property

Experience

Relationships

Processes

Creativity

Interactions

Databases

Adaptability

Collaborations

Business Model

Corporate Knowledge

Types of Knowledge and Associated Gaps

Knowledge we know
that we know

Knowledge we know
that we dont know

Knowledge we dont
know that we know

Knowledge we dont
know that we dont Know

The Impact of Knowledge on Operations

Time To Act
Instrumentation & Control
Data Acquisition

Today

Local / Site
Specific

Data

Advanced Process Control

Real Time Optimization
Blending
Planning & Scheduling

Information
< 12
Months

Knowledge

Supply Chain Management

Corporate Decision
Monitoring

> 12
Months

Business
Group /
Geographical
Global

Decisions

Impact

So what is Knowledge Management?

Making maximum use of what

your organization knows

Doing this systematically and

routinely

In service of the business strategy

What Knowledge Management is not

KM is not a database
The so-called build it and they will come
approach always fails

KM needs to be IT enabled, not IT led

IT is the delivery van of Knowledge

Management

IT is not unimportant, but its role must be

understood
More than anything, KM is about culture change

Our behaviour is driven by a fundamental core belief, the

desire and the ability of an organization to continuously
learn from any source, convert this learning into action, is
its ultimate competitive advantage.

- Jack Welch, General Electric

Two Assertions
Culture can be a barrier to KM
KM is a catalyst for culture change

Im far too busy to share

my knowledge

The No Time Myth

It will be much easier if your culture is

Team oriented
Performance focused

Project based

Our Journey: History and Background

ShareK program was launched to promote
and enable knowledge sharing across Saudi
Aramco:
o Two culture studies, internal by OCD and
external by APQC to leverage knowledge
sharing culture
o ShareK Portal is based on Microsoft
SharePoint 2010; a rich platform that is
fully integrated with Saudi Aramco IT
infrastructure
o Capture knowledge embedded in
business processes

People
70%

Technology
20%

Processes
10%
ShareK Program

About ShareK

ShareK (Share-Knowledge) is a
corporate knowledge sharing
program to promote sharing and
exploiting innovation, knowledge
and skills
ShareK focuses on:
Linking people to people
Linking people to knowledge

ShareK unifies corporate KS activities

under one theme

ShareK Strategic Vision

e-Standards

Lessons
Learned

Innovation

e-library
Best Practices

e-Services

Communities
of Practice
Organization
Workspaces

Knowledge Management

Connects all the ES programs

Capital Program
Optimization
Water
Conservation
Energy
Management

Asset Lifecycle
Management

Technology

Knowledge
Management

Enterprise Wide
HC Chain
Optimization

Corrosion
Management

Professional
Talent Development

Environmental
Protection
Nonmetallics
Low BTU Gas
Monetization
Downstream &
Strategic R&D

Carbon
Management

Upstream Surface R&D

Innovation

Quality Leadership

KM Program Pillars

KM Core Components
Assign specific roles and

Embed KM processes in the existing

responsibilities to provide

business process, aligned with the

accountability in knowledge

level of workload.

management activities.
People

Process

Establish KM expectations from

Utilize existing technology to

leaders, metrics, KPIs and a

manage knowledge such as

recognition program.

ShareK and Lessons Learned

Knowledge Base.
Governance

Technology

Our KM Strategies

Foster a Collaborative
Culture

Create Business Driven

Communities of Practice
HC

Develop the
Knowledge Hub

RC

Harvest Knowledge
SC

HC

Create
Governance

Deploy
Business
Focused COP

Promote
Knowledge
Retained & Reuse
Provide KM
Training

Develop KM
Framework
Identify Key
Knowledge

Develop Rewards &

Recognition

Foster Collaboration

Identify Knowledge
Islands
Harvest
Knowledge

Promote ShareK
Develop
Knowledge Hub

What is a CoP?
CoP is a group of people of the same interest who
come together to share and to learn from one
another face-to-face and/or virtually

Communities of Practice
o

Share knowledge and experience

Reduce costs and improve quality by

promoting best practices

Collaborate at the working level to gain

insight and accelerate solutions

Solve work-related problems

Disseminate new technologies and methods

Concept

Knowledge
Seekers

Pool of Experts

Knowledge Base

Success Factors

People
Process
Technology

Awareness
Leadership
Sponsorship

CoP empowered by InTouch with Experts

Embed CoP into business processes

Platform (ShareK)

CoP Offering
1

BROWSE
through the Knowledge Base

SEARCH
2

by using the search engine

?
Knowledge Seeker

DISCUSS

in the community of practice

ASK the Experts

4

by using InTouch with Experts

CoP Structure

Support Group
Develop

Promote

Support

Communities of Practice (CoP) Model

Announcements

Knowledge Base

Calendar of
Events

Search

Users

Ask Experts
Ask
Discuss

Discussion Forum

Best Practices
Lessons Learned
Technical Papers

Validate
Answer

Utilization
Reports

Organize

Share
Technical Alerts

Round Table
Discussions

Handy Links

External Corporate Knowledge

Embed

Manage
Events

Sponsor

Report

Mandate

Recognize

Champion

Share

Experts/Moderators

Search

FAQs

CoP Workflow
Share

Knowledge
Base

Browse
Users
Search

Peer Discussion
What do I do if...?
You can try
What if ?

Users

In my experience

Ask the Expert

What do I do if...?
You can try
What if ?
In my experience

Experts
/SMEs

ITWE Knowledge Base

Smart Plant
Drawings

CSD
Knowledge

Assets & Data

Innovation

P&CSD

New Methods

Knowledge

R&D

Inspection
Department

Knowledge

Knowledge

ITWE
KNOWLEDGE BASE
TIC
Publications

Engineering
Standards
Methodologies

CoP Corporate Benefits

Grow Saudi
Aramcos
Intellectual
Capital

Share best
practices
between Saudi
Aramco
facilities

Reduce rework
for subject
matter experts

Find
knowledge
quicker for the
knowledge
seeker

Challenges

ES Lack of Sponsorship (No Accountability)

Lack of Customer Engagement (Across Organizations)

Embedding KM into business work processes

The Need for a Sponsor

CE

CoPs Sponsors

Chairman

IT
ES Users

Managers

Professional
Bodies
(Discipline Owners)

Collaboration &
Engagement

Effective
Support

Moderators

Field Users
Effective sharing best
practices between SA
plants

SMEs

TKSU
EK&RD

Embed and Empower KS

within various disciplines

Better Accountability
Synergized and Cooperative

CoP Sponsorship Model

BOE
Chairman

IT

13

Professional
Bodies
(Discipline Owners)

Moderators

CoP 1

CoP 2

CoP 3

CoP n

SMEs

SMEs

SMEs

SMEs

TKSU
EK&RD

13 Professional Bodies

CoPs and Committees per PB

Process Automation PB

Std. Committees

Custody Measurement
High Integrity Protective System
Instrumentation

Custody
Measurement
CoP

HIPS
CoP

Instrumentation
CoP

More CoPs
to be developed

Equipment Specific P&ID

Templates
Process Control
Process Engineering

CoP Charter
Sponsors (Professional Body)
CoPs progress update on
communication meetings
Report progress to the champion
Recognition program

SMEs
Redirect questions to CoP
Respond to questions
Engage in discussions on CoP

Moderators
Encourage SMEs and members to use
the CoP
Follow-up on unanswered questions
Manage the content

EK&RD
Develop full functional CoPs
Support all stakeholders
KM/CoP awareness
Help with the campaign

What Other Leaders Are Doing!

Many companies around the world embraced various KM
initiatives with significant impact

- Management Engagement

All CoPs are aligned with business

functions/disciplines

Established 120 NoE (Networks of Excellence)

corporate-wide (2.8 billion in business value)

Robust success story program and recognition

- Accountability
- Top down and bottom up

- Outcast if you are not part of a CoP

- Do not look at money value, KS is more

than financial benefit
- 46 Communities of Practice (24,000
members including 3,500 SME)

- Two sponsors to approve a CoP (Eureka

communities)
- Elections for moderators and top of the
technical ladder
- $150,000,000 per year

Case Study

Introduce the Rotating Equipment

(engineering reliability) business focused
Community of Practice including the InTouch
with Expert

Recognition & Statistics

Expected Benefits to Saudi Aramco Plants

Promote learning/sharing between facilities

Reduce rework by eliminating redundant efforts

Respond faster to problems & transfer the Know How

Increase collaboration to boost business performance

Conclusion
Knowledge play vital role in companys Accelerated Transformation

Communities of Practice are key to a new culture of engagement

and achieving operational excellence
Building knowledge-base for engineers
company-wide, is ongoing and dynamic process

Management engagement and support is required